The Curse of the Wolf
by LadyTiamat
Summary: ...Chapter 3 is Finally UP! It is a curse that's as old as the moons in the sky and the creature that bears the curse is looking for it's next victim. Have the Young Ones met their match when the curse seizes one of their own?..
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER I don't own any of the D&D characters and I love em' too much to steal em'! Just the plot and the new additional characters belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Greetings fellow D&D fans! You are about to read my very first attempt at writing a fanfic! I hope you all enjoy, but please keep in mind that since I'm new at this there are bound to be a few errors no matter how many times I've proof read it (which have been A LOT!). So bear with me and I'll promise not to burn you to a crisp! sly dragon smile

LadyTiamat

PS: There's going to be quite a bit of H/S, and possibly a little E/D in this fic so consider yourselves thoroughly warned!

RATING: PG-13 (It probably won't be that high until a little later on in the story, but we'll leave it at PG-13 just to be safe!)

**Curse of the Wolf**

By LadyTiamat

Chapter 1

All he had to do was wait. And yet, Venger had never been one to posses much patience. The towering arch-mage stood on a parapet in his cold dark fortress. With clawed hands clasped behind his back his eyes scanned the black clouds that rolled quickly through the sky.

The rain that had fallen all through the night had stopped, at least for the moment. Shifting his gaze from the bleak clouds to the ground below he could see his army of orcs, bullywogs and lizard-men milling about their usual menial tasks.

The frustration of not doing anything himself caused a low growl to rumble from his throat. Unable to stop it, his mind once again wandered back to the events that took place only a few days earlier…in the dragon's graveyard.

'That boy!' he thought furiously.

'Ranger.' A nasty little voice in the back of Venger's mind corrected mockingly.

He had thought of little else since that last encounter with the Dungeon Master's pupils. His defeat in that miserable place had been so completely unfathomable that he was beginning to question whether it had even happened at all.

'Oh but it did happen!' the voice scoffed eerily. 'With all of your power and your armies and your spells, YOU the mighty Venger were nearly destroyed by a handful of children!'

Venger's hands came to grip the stony ledge of his parapet, an angry red glow beginning to emit from them. His mind replayed the events of his ultimate defeat yet again. The stone-faced look of the ranger, the horrible look of pity from the rest. His uncontrollable rage increased as the feelings of terror the young ranger had caused washed over him. The fiery red glow from his hands began to pulse with a violent energy.

The malicious voice continued, 'You are a FOOL Venger to think that you will rule the realm, when you can't even destroy a few pathetic children!…Led by that 'Boy'!'

A massive roar erupted from Venger as he whirled around and sent the red energy pulsating from his hands towards the heavy oak doors of his chamber.

An explosion of smoking wood and splinters went flying everywhere as Venger bellowed "Ranger!" to correct the spiteful voice in his mind.

"Those 'children' have proven to be a more than just a nuisance, but a force to be reckoned with!" He spat as if to justify himself. "But their luck will soon run out and when it does, I WILL be there for it!"

"Master?" a timid voice called out from behind him. Venger whirled around in surprise at the intrusion.

"Shadow Demon!" he snapped irritably. "This had BETTER be important!"

The dark shady form of shadow demon cowered at Venger's harsh shout. Judging by the smoldering debris of the former chamber doors, and his tone of voice, He could tell Venger was NOT in a good mood.

"I..I bring news of the young ones as you requested."

"AND!?!" Venger growled.

"They are going east, heading for the village of Devenmoore."

Venger glared at his spy in annoyance. "That's all the information you have for me!?! That they are headed east!?!"

Shadow Demon bowed himself especially low in fear. Venger felt a slight tinge of satisfaction at his crony's fear. Turning from his cowering cohort, He stalked out of the room and down the gloomy hallway.

Shadow Demon, realizing that his master was no longer present, quickly glided out of the room and down the hallway after him.

He finally found Venger in another chamber staring intently at a massive map of the realm that hung from the chamber wall. He could hear Venger murmur to himself as he charted the young ones' course.

Deciding to remain silent, Shadow Demon quietly waited for his master's instructions. Suddenly a low rumble reverberated throughout the room. Startled, Shadow Demon looked to Venger. The arch-mage was still staring at the map, his broad shoulders shaking. The low rumble quickly escalated into a full out maniacal laugh...coming from Venger! The horrible laugh became so fanatical that it caused Shadow Demon to shrink back with dread.

As Venger turned from the map, Shadow Demon was shocked to see Venger's face screwed into a deranged smile. "Before the young ones reach the village of Devenmoore they must pass…the 'sentinels' of Galatorox."

"Galatorox!?! That forest, my Lord, is vexed by an unholy curse. There's no creature in all the realm that does not know this. Nor would they dare to step foot there!" Shadow Demon spoke incredulously.

"Indeed Shadow Demon. No creature 'from' this realm. But Dungeon Master's pupils, the young fools, will have no such knowledge of the danger. And their blind ignorance will be their undoing."

Venger's lips curled into a demonic smile, his curved fangs gleaming wickedly in the dark. "I need you, Shadow Demon, to deliver a VERY important message for me…."

The rain fell lightly on the young travelers as they made their way slowly towards their destination in the east. Hank the Ranger kept a steady pace in the lead for the others to follow.

'What a rotten morning.' He thought to himself as he continued to walk.

It had rained the entire night before and had continued throughout the morning, with no current signs of letting up. Not only that but a thick mist caused by all of the moisture in the air made it difficult to see much of their surroundings.

Sliding his hand through his saturated blonde hair, he turned to see how the others were fairing.

Presto the magician and Eric the cavalier brought up the rear of their group, casually debating with each other about whether they'd rather face Venger or Darth Vader in a fight. Diana the acrobat walked a couple of paces ahead of them, quietly fidgeting with her javelin.

Sheila the thief walked just a step or two behind him, seemingly talking aloud to herself, but Hank knew better. He immediately noticed that her magic cloak was missing and since her brother, Bobby the barbarian, was also 'missing', it was easy to surmise that she had probably given it to Bobby for protection against the rain.

She must have felt his gaze on her, for she turned from talking to Bobby to look at him. For a moment Hank held his breath as she gave him a soft smile, a smile that she saved only for him. He returned her smile with one of his own.

His smile broadened as she finished her conversation with Bobby and quickened her pace to walk by his side.

"Any sign of shelter yet?" she asked quietly, trying not to draw the attention of the others. They had all been trekking in the rain for a couple of hours now and it had caused everyone to be a bit irritable this morning.

Hank sighed as he turned to look at her. She was drenched from head to toe, strands of her fiery red hair plastered across her soft freckled face. Hank's heart wrenched in concern for her as saw her shiver slightly from the cold. Yet despite the fact that she was cold and dripping wet, he knew she would never criticize his leadership or complain about his decisions.

Her trust and unwavering faith in him was a blessing that he wasn't sure he deserved. But deserving or not he couldn't have been more grateful. He would never forget the stinging pain he had felt the one time her faith in him faltered, thinking he was a traitor during the whole cloud bear disaster. Never again would do ANYTHING to betray her trust in him. He was sure that he never would have gotten himself or the others this far without her.

Reaching out a hand, he affectionately brushed away the wet strands of hair from her face, his hand lingering only for a moment on her cheek before finally falling back down to his side again.

"No." He sighed in frustration. "No sign of shelter anywhere, at least none that I can see through the rain and this mist. I'm beginning to think that this wasn't such a good idea."

"But Hank, this wasn't your idea. Dungeon Master said this was the direction we needed to go remember? You can't help fact that it's raining. Besides, at least this way we're getting a break from the heat wave we've had all week."

Hank smiled at her affectionately. Leave it to Sheila to 'look at the glass half full'. It was one of the many qualities that he loved about her. She always knew what to say to make him feel better when he needed it.

She smiled at him knowingly as they continued to walk. Despite of her kind words however, he knew that they needed shelter soon, before they all caught pneumonia from the rain and the chill.

As if on cue, a snide comment from the rear of the group broke Hank's train of thought.

"Oh fearless leader!?! Do you think we could find a place to dry off anytime soon or should I start growing gills?"

Hank stopped and turned to face the others, his patience already wearing thin.

"I don't know Eric, considering the way you looked as a bogbeast, having gills couldn't make you look too bad!" Presto joked.

"Meeyah!" bleated Uni the Unicorn, who shared the warmth and invisibility of Sheila's cloak with Bobby.

"Huh! Very funny Presto!" Scoffed Eric "Why don't you make yourself useful and conjure up a dry place for us to rest with that stupid hat of yours!?!"

Presto stopped laughing and slowly took the sopping hat from his head. He looked at it uncertainly. His hat was so temperamental at times, he was never sure what would come out of it next.

A reassuring hand came to rest on his shoulder. "You can do it Presto!" came Diana's optimistic voice.

Buoyed by her confidence in him, he started to wave his hand in a circular motion over his hat as he conjured a spell.

"Hocus pocus…malderin sei…give us some shelter so we can get dry!" He cringed at the poor rhyming but was happily surprised to see the hat begin to glow in response.

"Hey, I DID IT!" he shouted as he reached into the hat and pulled out an object. A huge laugh erupted from Eric as Presto held up the rather large hair dryer.

"That's great Presto! Now if you could just conjure up some hair dye and some scissors we could start our own salon!" Eric continued to laugh.

Hank came over and gave Presto an encouraging pat on the back. "Don't sweat it Buddy. At least you tried!"

"Thanks Hank, I know. Maybe it's just cuz' my hat's all wet." Presto replied self-consciously as he placed the soggy hat back on his head. All of a sudden the hair dryer in his hand roared to life causing all of the young ones to jump back in surprise.

"Hey! It's working!" Bobby shouted as a strong blast of air from the dryer forced the hood of Sheila's cloak to fall back from his head, causing both he and Uni to magically reappear as if from nowhere.

Presto yelped as the blast of air coming from the blow dryer became stronger and stronger.

"Presto, you can stop now!" Shouted Eric as he drew his shield up to cover himself from the massive surge of air coming from the contraption.

"I can't!" Presto panicked as the sheer force of the air coming out of the dryer knocked him flat on his back.

Relieved that the dryer was now pointed at the sky and not at his friends, Hank reacted quickly. Grabbing Presto's hat from his head he immediately brought it down on top of the blow dryer in Presto's hands.

Presto breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the item disappear from his grip back into the depths of his magic hat.

"Thanks Hank." He said as the Ranger pulled him back up onto his feet and off of the soggy ground.

"You okay?" he asked in concern. Presto nodded.

"Well I'M not! It's still raining, we're still soaked, and we STILL don't have any shelter!"

"Can it Eric!" Hank snapped in irritation as he turned to face the cavalier. He was in no mood for Eric's whining or his sarcastic remarks. Glaring petulantly at Hank, Eric opened his mouth to say something when suddenly Sheila let out a gasp.

Immediately turning his attention from the cavalier back over to the thief, he saw that Sheila was staring at something in the distance. Diana, who stood next to Sheila, was also staring wide-eyed in that direction.

Hank's eyes shot from them to the direction where the girls were staring and felt a small gasp escape his own lips as well.

The fiasco with the dryer had caused some of the thick mist in the air to clear, giving them a better look at their surroundings through the falling rain. And there, looming in the distance, towered a vast forest. A forest the likes of which Hank had never seen, neither on earth nor in the realm. It was dark and ominous, and the trees were several times taller and denser those that the cloud bears lived in.

"Look shelter!" Bobby jumped up and down excitedly. Uni bleated merrily along with him, excited for the chance to be out of the cold rain.

"It's about time!" Eric muttered aloud, taking off towards the forest.

But as Hank continued to stare at the distant woodland, an icy chill ran down his spine. And it wasn't caused by the wind or the cold.

"I'm not so sure about this guys." Hank suddenly spoke, causing the others to stop from taking another step towards the woods.

Eric spun around quickly in annoyance. "What is it with you Hank!?! We're cold and wet and in need of shelter and when it's staring us in the face suddenly you're not sure!?! What's there to be unsure about? You worry too much!" And with that Eric turned and continued to walk towards the forest.

The others hesitated and looked to Hank for a reaction. Hank sighed wearily. Being to tired to argue he instead gave them a nod to 'go ahead'. Not needing to be told twice the group turned and followed the cavalier.

"You okay?" Sheila asked in concern as she waited behind to walk with the Ranger.

"Yeah…" He said tiredly as they started to follow the others. "I just felt…never mind. Maybe Eric's right, maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Sheila's concern didn't lessen as she looked towards the dark woodland that lay ahead. Sensing her unease, Hank wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her close to him as they walked. Reassured by his closeness, Sheila leaned into him for comfort and warmth. Hank felt soothed by her presence but as they drew nearer and nearer to the forest he still couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right…

He watched them closely from the depths of the dark foliage that encircled him. There were, indeed, six young children and a little unicorn trespassing through his forest. The shadow demon hadn't lied. A wicked smile worked its way across his black muzzle, revealing porcelain white fangs, as he easily spotted his assigned target. This would be all to easy. He shook with the thrill of the events that were about to take place. Now, all he had to do was wait…


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** I'd like to give a special thanks to the wonderful people who took their time to review my story…. "THANK YOU!" I know it seems kinda' trivial but they sure do keep me writing! I love em! After all, dragons cannot live on meat alone!!! wink -LadyTiamat

**The Curse of the Wolf**

Chapter 2

They wandered cautiously through the dense foliage and undergrowth, feeling VERY small compared to the colossal trees that forebodingly towered over them. Uni let out a soft bleat of fear and snuggled deeper into Bobby's arms. Bobby unconsciously hugged Uni closer to him as he pulled the hood of Shiela's cloak back over his head, despite the fact that they were well sheltered from the rain now.

He started walking closer to Shiela, who put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She allowed her other hand to drop down to her side as she released her grip on Hank's arm. She was reluctant to let go of him, as she always felt safer when she was close to him, but if for any reason he needed to use his bow, he would need that arm.

Hank turned to her the second she let go of him, thinking something may be wrong. She just looked up at him and gave a reassuring wink. Hank nodded in understanding, turning his attention back to their surroundings. They had become very good at communicating to each other without words. It was amazing to him how just one look or one touch from her could speak such volumes.

Eric was still currently leading the group but was flanked on either side by Diana and Presto. The cavalier was silently grateful that they were close by. Even though he had acted so cocky and confident while entering the forest, he was beginning to wonder if Hank's hesitation to enter the forest actually had some merit. After about a half hour's walk the group slowly came to a halt in a small clearing in the shadowy woods.

"D..Do you guys hear that?" Presto asked quietly while looking in several different directions.

"I don't hear anything." Diana muttered, her hands gripping her javelin tightly.

"Exactly!" Presto exclaimed worriedly. "No wind, no birds, not even the normal 'creepy forest' noises you usually hear. Nothing!"

Hank didn't say anything. He had noticed the extreme silence the moment they stepped foot into the dark terrain. Not even the sound of the rain could be heard hitting the leaves on the trees. It was unnatural and it had set his nerves on edge. He was glad that he wasn't the only one who had noticed it, but it brought him little comfort.

"Maybe the animals are just hiding from the rain too!" Bobby suggested hopefully.

"Yeah, or maybe they're just getting ready to attack us!" Eric sneered, bringing his hands up in mock gesture of an attacking monster.

"Eric!" Hank snapped in warning to stop.

Bobby glared nastily at the cavalier and stepped forward threateningly. He was immediately pulled back by Sheila, however, who shook her head disapprovingly at Eric.

"Huh." Eric scoffed, looking around at the others. "Come on you guys! Lighten up! This is just a forest like any other we've wandered through in this crummy world! Nothing's going to 'get you', so relax!"

No one said anything, when a sudden violent rustling in the bushes nearby caused everyone to jump.

"GET BACK!" Hank shouted as he brought his bow up to aim at the shaking bush, an energy arrow already strung. Eric, Presto and Sheila stepped back while Diana and Bobby stood next to Hank to support him on either side, weapons at the ready.

Just as suddenly as the rustling had started, it stopped. No one moved. All of them stared intently at the bush. Hank's grip tightened on his weapon, preparing for anything.

The bush stayed deathly still for what seemed like an eternity. Then a sudden a streak of gray shot out from under the bushes and ran straight under Diana's legs, who yelped in surprise. Uni bleated in terror as she leapt up into Sheila's arms for safety.

Sheila also yelped in surprise as the flash of gray ran past her feet as well. It stopped a few feet away to stare at them before disappearing into the dense foliage far behind them.

"Its only a rabbit!" Presto laughed in relief.

The past few moments had been so intense that both Eric and Diana joined in Presto's laughter. Hank's grip on his bow slackened as he allowed the energy arrow to fizzle into nothing, letting out a shaky breath of air that he hadn't realized he'd even been holding. Bringing his weapon down to rest at his side he turned to look at the others, in no mood to laugh.

Bobby didn't say anything as he continued to look at the undergrowth that the rabbit had disappeared into, unsure about what was so funny. Uni wriggled out of Sheila's vice-like grip and trotted over to the bushes, sniffing at them curiously.

"You should have seen the looks on your faces!" Eric wheezed in laughter while pointing at the rest of the group. "Oh please Mr. Bunny, PLEASE don't hurt me!" He laughed while pretending to beg to some imaginary rabbit on the ground.

Sheila was unimpressed by Eric's antics and came to stand next to Hank who, ever so slightly, leaned into her. He was also unimpressed by the smug cavalier's display.

"RRRROOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!"

Eric screamed as he jumped what must have been three feet in the air in reaction to the terrifying roar that came from behind him. He quickly whirled around to see, not a monster, but Bobby who was rolling around on the forest floor in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

The young barbarian's prank soon got a laugh out of everyone except Eric, who turned his back on the group to stare at the dark forest, folding his arms across his chest in an air of disdain.

Diana's laughter lessened as she watched Eric stand there, pretending to ignore them. Slowly she started to make her way towards him. Eric could be shallow and callous at times, but she was certain that much of his dry sarcasm and cutting remarks were merely a shield to protect a somewhat fragile ego.

"Hey Cavalier, why the long face? We were all having just a little fun right? Even you?" She asked with a pleasant grin.

"Fun!?!" Eric blurted in annoyance. "FUN!?! You think being cold, wet, hungry and humiliated is fun!?! Boy Diana, I'd sure hate to know what you think is dull!"

Diana bit her tongue. It's not like the rest of them weren't cold, wet, or hungry too. Not to mention the fact that wet armor wasn't half as bad (or as smelly as) wet fur!

Though it wasn't easy, Diana chose to ignore Eric's complaints and instead came up with a solution. Snaking one of her arms through one of Eric's locked ones, she pulled him towards the edge of the clearing.

"Well I know how to fix that." She said playfully. "Hank! Eric and I volunteer to go and find some food, if that's ok?"

"WHAT!?!" Eric burst out in surprise. "I didn't volunteer for that!"

"Oh come on!" Diana insisted. "It'll be fun! Besides," she said while lowering her voice, "We all know that you're the best when it comes to finding food."

Eric's look of resistance soon melted into a look of proud confidence.

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that. When you're right, your right Diana!" He said proudly. Both turned to look for Hank's consent.

Hank on the other hand wasn't so sure of letting them go off on their own. Even though they hadn't seen any signs of danger, he still couldn't shake the strange feeling he had.

"Yeah! And Bobby an' me'll go and try to find some dry leaves and sticks to start a fire with!" Presto volunteered gladly.

Hank's fear started to lessen as the others didn't seem to share his feelings of doubt about the forest for some reason. Maybe it was all of the stress that He'd been under lately that was causing him to feel this way. It had only been a few days since the battle in the Dragon's Graveyard and that had been one of the biggest decisions that He had ever had to face…Whether or not to let Venger live.

In the end, He believed that he'd done the right thing in letting Venger go, but they hadn't seen him since that last encounter. And now one of Hank's greatest fears was that Venger would do something to them to make him regret that decision.

"Do I have to find wood for the fire? I'd rather help Hank build the pit for it." Bobby griped, snapping Hank back into the present.

"No, go ahead and stay here Bobby and I'll help Presto." Sheila consented patting her brother's shoulder kindly. Bobby smiled in satisfaction at getting to stay with Hank, willingly giving Shiela's cloak back to her.

"All right." Hank finally answered with a small trace of apprehension in his voice. "But DON'T wander away from the clearing to far, and DON'T leave each other's sight. Alright?"

"Anything you say Hank." Eric replied in a tone of false adoration. Diana gave him a sharp jab in the arm with her elbow and simply nodded back at Hank.

Sheila and Presto also dutifully nodded in agreement to Hank's orders and started heading towards the opposite edge of the clearing. Hank watched them all head into the shadowy forest, ignoring the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What do ya' think about having the fire over here Hank?" Bobby asked, pointing to a spot in the clearing far from any of the trees.

Once again being jolted out of his thoughts, Hank scanned the spot that Bobby had picked and nodded in approval.

'You've gotta get a grip Hank.' He thought to himself as he helped Bobby find large stones for their fire pit. 'Eric's right, (Although that thought made him grimace) not everything in the realm is out to get you.'….

Golden eyes watched the young ones intensely as they split up to perform their various tasks. 'How amusing.' He thought with interest. A deep rumble of laughter vibrated in his chest as his eyes focused on his objective. 'How nice of them to make this so easy for me.' His crimson tongue ran along the ridges of his razor sharp teeth, licking his chops with anticipation.

Shifting his sights, his eyes settled on the blond young man with the small boy. 'Ranger.' His mind registered. Venger's colleague Shadow Demon had warned him of "that" one. Just the look of him caused his black fur to bristle. There was something about "that" one that was unsettling. But what?

Truthfully, after the way Shadow Demon had described the young man, he was prepared for a full out fight. But after watching him let his friends pair off, he had come to the conclusion that this young man wasn't as clever nor as big a challenge as Venger had made him out to be.

He was almost disappointed at how simple this was going to be. But ultimately it didn't really matter. Time was of the essence now and he would deal with the Ranger and the rest of the young ones later.

He emerged from the foliage, a dark wraith in the filtered light of the forest. As silent as death itself he effortlessly followed the sent of his prey. In moments he positioned himself under the protection of a very large bush, the leaves concealing his location.

His sharp eyes followed his quarry's every movement, his large keen ears picked up every sound. It was almost time. All that was needed now was his disguise.

With a few harshly uttered magic words his pelt, that was as black as midnight, changed to the color of freshly fallen snow. Immediately the sight of his pelt filled him with an indescribable hatred. His eyes burned with extreme fury. 'Just you wait…_Brother_.' He thought viciously. 'After hundreds of years, your end is drawing near…'

His powerful muscles tightened, like a coil prepared to spring. His mouth watered, the thought of blood on his mind. He fought the urge to howl maniacally at the ecstasy of the hunt. The time had come…

Sheila, once again, pushed her wet cloak out of the way while she scanned the ground for dry wood. The cloak was heavy from the rain, and was cold on her back but she was grateful to have it despite that.

She already had a nice bundle of sticks gathered in her arms and turned to see how Presto was fairing. The young magician was also searching the

ground for kindling but unfortunately was not doing as well as Shiela.

She couldn't help but smile as she watched Presto diligently hunt. Out of all the others, she and Presto were probably the most alike. Both of them were relatively shy and unsure of themselves and were often branded as "followers". This never bothered her though, as long she was following someone she trusted.

This thought naturally led her to think of Hank. Just the thought of him caused her heart to beat a bit faster. She had always liked Hank. He was the complete embodiment of everything that she was not. He was brave and bold, while she was shy and timid. He was strong and fearless, when she felt weak and afraid. Hank was a natural born leader who people just naturally flocked to, while she had often felt invisible. Which made her weapon, the cloak of invisibility, an almost painful irony.

The thought made her heart sink, and yet, there was one person who _had _seen her when no one else had; who she never felt invisible too. And that thought gave her hope.

"We can probably head back now Presto. I think between the two of us we have enough wood."

Presto turned to look at Shiela and frowned at the bundle of brushwood she held in her arms. How did she find her's so quickly?

"Ok Sheila. Let me just grab these few I just found and we can go." He said, turning back to the large bush he had found the sticks resting under. As he reached for them a sudden blast of warm air on his hand caused him to look up. Staring into the bush Presto's heart stopped as his eyes met with another pair staring back at him.

Jerking back in surprise Presto continued to stare into the foliage at the pair of gleaming golden eyes.

"Sh..Sheila?" Presto stammered, almost unable to speak.

"Hmm?" Sheila muttered without turning around, examining a bush that seemed to have some kind of berries growing on it.

Unable to break his stare with the creature in the bushes, Presto backed up until he bumped into Shiela.

"Presto!? What are you…." She started to ask, but immediately stopped when he grabbed her wrist tightly. Sheila looked from Presto to the direction that he was staring at and inhaled sharply as the biggest wolf she had ever seen emerged from the bushes.

For a moment time seemed to stand still as Presto and Sheila stared at the wolf. It was huge, and as white as a ghost. Presto jerked in terror as the wolf let out a deep and terrible growl that shook him to the core. The wolf, continuing to stare at Presto, opening it's mouth to reveal his wicked looking fangs.

Sheila was entranced by the beast. Not even Kelek's wolves could have compared to the monster that stood before them. And it was absolutely terrifying.

The wolf took a step forward, and Sheila took a step back. Presto didn't budge, as if he was suddenly physically unable to move.

'DON'T PANIC!' Sheila thought to herself while taking a deep breath. 'What would Hank do!?!'

Suddenly Sheila desperately wished that the ranger were there. He'd know what to do! Hank always knew what to do. But he wasn't there, and Sheila didn't have a clue as to what to do.

The wolf took another step forward and snarled fiercely at them, still continuing to intimidate Presto.

Sheer desperation suddenly forced Sheila into action as she dropped the sticks in her hands and grabbed a large rock from the ground.

'I must be crazy.' She thought, cringing, as she used all the energy in her arm to launch to rock into the air.

The shot was true and it hit the wolf directly on it's right temple. The wolf dropped to the ground, momentarily stunned.

"Presto RUN!" Sheila screamed as she pushed him in the direction of the clearing.

Jolted out of his trance, Presto abruptly started running for the clearing but slowed as he saw the Sheila wasn't following.

"Sheila!?!" Presto yelled in fear, watching as the wolf got back up on its feet.

"GO!!!" She yelled forcefully, as the wolf roared at Sheila in rage. Making eye contact with the wolf, she then turned and ran in a different direction.

Presto watch in absolute horror as the wolf turned to look at him one last time, it's mouth drawn back into what Presto swore was a sadistic smile, and then launched itself into the darkening forest… chasing after Sheila.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes**: Once again a big "THANK YOU" goes out to all who have reviewed this story! Consider yourselves "dragon approved," and how many people can say that!?! My sincerest apologies for the long wait and I'm sorry this chapter's a bit shorter than the others, but more is on the way SOON! Please enjoy and as always PLEASE REVIEW! -LadyTiamat

**Rating: **T/ or PG-13 for anyone who doesn't know the rating system, just to be safe!

**Curse of the Wolf**

Chapter 3

Presto raced through the forest as though the hounds of hell were snapping at his feet…maybe they were! What was that thing!?! He had faced a lot since first coming to the realm, but this almost took the cake! He hadn't reacted that way when he was near Kelek's wolves, so why did he freeze up like that before this creature? He wasn't sure, but one thing was certain, Sheila was in trouble!

"HANK!!!" Presto screamed with all the energy he had left…

"Hank! Come on! I say 'first come, first serve'!" Eric complained to the Ranger for what had to be the fiftieth time. Diana and Bobby both rolled their eyes at the endless whining, but had to admit that the food resting on the cavalier's shield was very tempting.

"Give it up Eric, we're not eating till Sheila and Presto get back so just forget it!" Hank retorted in exasperation.

"Yeah Er-ic! Forget it!" Bobby reiterated, enjoying the seething glance that Eric shot in his direction.

"Meeyah Eew-wick!" Uni echoed, receiving a pat on the head as approval from Bobby.

Eric glowered at the boy and his unicorn and was about to reply when Diana purposely cut him off, trying to prevent another fight.

"Hank's right. Sheila and Presto will be back any second so we may as well wait just a little longer."

Hank gave her a small smile of appreciation for her support and turned back to stare out into the forest. He prayed she was right, but Sheila and Presto should have been back by now.

Diana watched Hank in concern. She knew he was worried, it seemed like lately he was always worried. Hank had been pretty quiet after what happened in the dragon's graveyard. He hadn't talked to her about it, but she knew the decision he made that day wasn't easy for him. And yet he was forced to make decisions much like that one on a daily basis ever since they got to the realm.

A sudden cry in the forest broke her train of thought as she jumped to her feet. Hank heard it to and immediately darted into the forest, yelling Presto's name with Diana close behind.

Eric, Bobby and Uni jumped up in alarm at their friends' abrupt dash into the woods and instantly raced after them…

Presto hit the ground hard as his foot caught the root of a tree. Gasping for air he struggled to get back up on his feet. The resounding sound of his name ringing out in the air caused a warm rush of relief to wash over him as he realized it was Hank calling for him.

"Hank! Over here!" Presto shouted with all the breath he had left. Seconds later Hank emerged from some nearby trees followed by Diana.

"Presto!" Hank exclaimed as he rushed to his friend.

Presto tried to get up, but his legs too tired to even stand, dropped to the forest floor once again in an exhausted heap. Hank dropped to the ground next to him and gripped Presto's shoulders to keep him upright.

"Presto! Are you hurt!?!" Hank asked while looking him over for any injuries.

Presto shook his head as he continued to gasp for air.

"What happened!?! Where's Sheila!?!" Hank asked frantically as Diana stooped down and placed a hand on Presto's shoulder.

Presto suddenly gripped Hank's arms tightly, his eyes full of fear and concern.

"Hank!…Shiela!…Trouble!…Bad!" he panted, unable to fully explain.

But Hank needed no explanation, all he needed to know was that Sheila was in serious trouble.

"Which way?!?" Hank pled, noticing that Eric, Bobby and Uni had finally caught up to them.

Presto pointed in the direction that he'd just come from and Hank jumped to his feet.

"Diana, Bobby! Help get Presto back to camp and stay alert until we get back! Eric, you come with me!"

Then, without waiting for an argument from anyone, Hank bolted in the direction that Presto had just come from.

"Hang on Sheila," Hank whispered as he ran, "I'm coming!"….

Sheila sped through the dense forest terrain as fast as she could, jumping over logs and dodging low hanging branches. She didn't need to look back to know that the white wolf was pursuing her, she could hear it crashing through the trees and shrubs with a velocity that she could never match. It would be only a matter of seconds before the beast was upon her, so if she was going to do something she'd better do it quick!

Swiftly dodging to her left, Sheila grabbed the hood of her cloak. 

"Time to disappear." She muttered, pulling the hood over her head.

Instantly Sheila disappeared from sight and instantly came to a halt, standing perfectly still. She dared not breathe.

The wolf abruptly came to a halt, unable to see it's prey. Sheila watched the beast in horrified fascination. It's large pointed ears twitched back and forth, listening for the smallest of noises, it's cold gold eyes seeking the forest for her. Then, it lowered it's nose to the ground and her heart nearly stopped as she realized that it was searching for her scent!

Without any warning the wolf suddenly lunged in her direction, knocking her to the ground. Sheila gasped in alarm as the wolf stood directly above her, staring at her with glittering golden eyes. Absolute dread flooded her senses but no matter how overcome with fear, Sheila was physically unable to break eye contact…

Time seemed to stand still as the two simply started at each other.

'Those eyes.' The creature thought in utter disbelief. 'Those eyes. _Her_ eyes! How long those eyes have haunted me!' Emotions once believed to be dead inside now cut into his soul like a searing blade…

Sheila, her eyes still locked in a dangerous staring contest with that of the white wolf that towered over her, used the precious time to her advantage and ever so slowly started to lift her legs up. The beast continued to stare at her intently, as if in a trance.

'I have ached for so long to see those eyes again…how can this be?' His mind reeled in confusion.

Sheila's careful concentration on escape was suddenly interrupted when the monster let out a pitiful whimper. Suddenly the creature had her full attention as she truly _looked_ into it's eyes. A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips as she saw a sadness so intense inside of them that it caused her own heart to lurch in sympathy. What was it seeing in her eyes?

'It can't be!' He decided, suddenly snapping out of his reverie. 'She has bewitched me in the cruelest way and will pay dearly for it!'

The grief that filled the beast's eyes vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared and was replaced by a look of extreme hatred. 'NOW!' her mind screamed and, using all of her strength, shoved her feet directly into the wolf's stomach as hard as she could.

Completely taken by surprise, the wolf nearly fell on top of Sheila gasping for air, the wind entirely knocked out of him.

Sheila rolled out of the way just before the creature collapsed to the ground and was immediately on her feet and running again. She prayed that she was running towards the others, but truthfully she had no idea where she was going at this point.

A bloodcurdling howl tore through the air. The noise so terrifying that it caused Sheila to scream as well. There was no way that she could hide, her weapon was useless against such a monster. She would never be able to outrun it, no matter how fast she ran. She was completely helpless, and it was coming for her. She had only one hope left.

"HAAANK!!!"….

Running through the forest at breakneck speed, Hank followed the trail of footprints and broken branches left by Presto. At the back of his mind He was surprised that Eric was keeping up with him fairly well. He hadn't wanted Eric to come at first, afraid that the cavalier'd only slow him down.

But he wasn't sure what he was up against and he'd need someone to cover his back.

Diana would have been the obvious choice, but he needed someone of her skill to care for Presto, who himself was in no condition to go and taking Bobby with him simply would have been out of the question. No, Eric in the end was his only choice.

"Hank!" Eric shouted as they both ran, "Are you sure we're still headed in the right direction?"

Hank was about to reply when a distant howl filled the air, followed only seconds later by a scream. A scream that would surely haunt his worst nightmares.

"SHEILA!!!" Hank shouted, his blood running cold at the terror he heard in her voice.

Eric sped after Hank, doing all that he could to keep up with the Ranger. He wasn't exactly thrilled about coming with Hank in the first place and the howl he'd heard just seconds ago had caused his heart to skip a beat. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of "trouble" Presto had meant that Sheila was in, but it was rapidly becoming clear that she was, indeed, in very big trouble. He silently prayed that his friend would be alright as they continued to race through the forest…

Sheila had never been so relieved to hear her name being called in her life as she heard Hank screaming it in the distance.

"HAAAANK!!!" She screamed again, hoping to guide him in the right direction.

Seconds later she heard him call for her again, this time closer and but still quite a distance away. 'Please hurry Hank!' her mind pled as her body started to slow, the exertion and fear starting to take it's toll.

Another spine tingling howl split the air so loudly that it must have been directly behind her.

"HAAANK!!!" She cried again as she dared to look behind her. To her surprise the creature wasn't there. But if it wasn't behind her than where was it? Turning her attention back to the forest in front of her she suddenly came crashing to a dead stop.

The massive white beast stood before her, it's eyes wild with fury and it's teeth bared in aggression, blocking her from escape.

"No…" she whispered in defeat as the wolf stepped towards her. Sheila turned to run back the way she had come when she was suddenly knocked to the ground. Violently she was rolled from her stomach to lay on her back, once again staring up at the wolf.

It growled so loudly that it shook her entire body, and unable to surpress it, Sheila screamed with all the energy she had left. It was at that moment that the Wolf's jaws opened and gleaming razor sharp teeth shot towards her delicate and unprotected throat…

- What do you think so far? Let me know in your reviews and I'll do my best to live up to the expectations!


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